Former WWE Tag Team Champion Convinces Current WWE Star Not To Quit The Company

For the majority of professional wrestlers who compete in the sport, a typical day is not full of star-studded fights and long-lined autograph sessions. In fact, many experience the tough grind to even be able to perform in front of a crowd of 50 people. While blood, sweat, and tears are poured to impress the right person in order to get an opportunity to at least try out, many go their whole lives hoping to make it to the big stage.

One person who was fortunate enough to make it to the WWE was Cliff Compton. Establishing himself as a major player in the independent scene, Compton gained the interest of WWE’s then-developmental territory and legendary promotion, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). After a successful stint in OVW, Compton was called up to compete for the SmackDown brand, teaming up with Jimmy Snuka Jr. — then known as Deuce — changing his name to Domino and debuting as Deuce ‘n Domino in January of 2007.

The team would soar up the rankings, winning the tag team championship only three months after their debut. The team would keep the championships for over four months before losing to MVP and Matt Hardy. This was the pinnacle of Compton’s WWE career before being released in August of 2008.

After then, he would return back to a life as an independent wrestler, as well as going back to OVW and win the company’s heavyweight championship on several occasions. He would also have a short stint in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion, becoming a member of the villainous S.C.U.M. faction. Throughout all of this, Compton would maintain a large following and remain friends with wrestlers in WWE.

Just recently, Compton tweeted how he had to convince a current WWE star that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Nowadays, there have been a number of WWE stars who were released or decided to leave the company due to being poorly used on the roster. One of the most shocking departures came from former WWE Intercontinental and Tag Team Champion Cody Rhodes. While he was ready to live out the Rhodes legacy and achieve main event heights like his father did in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), he explained via a lengthy statement on Twitter, reported by FOX Sports, that he was constantly getting rejected when pitching ideas of how he could ascend up the ladder.

“My goal in pro-wrestling has always been to win the WWE Championship (the one accolade in the game my Father never obtained), and for a decade I tried to convince both Vince and HHH that I could be their star player, their varsity quarterback if you will, but it seems we have reached the point where neither saw that in me.

“In the past 6 months I had pleaded with WWE Creative and both of my bosses to let me roll-the-dice and once again be Cody Rhodes. I had pitched to every writer on staff like a door-to-door salesman.”

Rhodes is not the only person who felt short-handed by WWE. Another former WWE Intercontinental Champion, Ryback, has also been very vocal about his frustration towards the company and how he was given empty promises regarding being pushed to a top talent.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Ryback voiced the fact that he did not see eye-to-eye with Vince McMahon.

“Vince has created that world, that bubble he lives in with the people he has surrounded himself with, and I need to go out and create my world. My beliefs are entirely different than his. No offense, we just didn’t see eye-to-eye business-wise, and I’m going to tell the people why. I’ve taken a lot of s— over the years for things I had no control over. I do have control now, and I’m not going to live in fear.”

While these names achieved enough success in the WWE to have a constant schedule of bookings, not everyone who made it to the big stage will have as much success. As Compton alluded in his tweet, it becomes a reality check when a WWE talent had a spot on a WrestleMania card before deciding to leave the company as a result of not liking his or her direction at the time. In a lot of cases, that person is now relegated to competing in back-alley arenas for pennies on the dollar.

For every WWE talent, the option is to either wait it out and keep pushing the creative staff to give them a chance or take the gamble that they will receive better pay and continual work on the indies. If one chooses to leave the company, it could be the best decision they have made regarding the direction of their wrestling career. Or, unfortunately, it can become the worst.

[Featured Image By Alexandre Meneghini/AP Images]